JUNETEENTH 2020: Why and how to celebrate and honor at Seattle Central

Submitted by webteam_admin on Tue, 06/16/2020 - 11:31

Hello, Beloved Seattle Central Community,

While many of us know about and even celebrated June 14th, Flag Day this past Saturday, and all know about the upcoming July 4th Independence Day. However, only a fraction of American public is aware of the holiday venerated by Black Americans for over 150 years: JUNETEENTH.

Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, celebrated on June 19^th, commemorates the day, in 1865, when Black Americans were emancipated or freed from enslavement by the U.S. Emancipation Proclamation, a federal document officially releasing enslaved Black people from bondage. It was communicated in the last southern State,Texas, that held Black Americans in bondage and this communique came to Galveston some two and a half years after its signing by President Abraham Lincoln.

Like Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day, Juneteenth is bound up in this country’s tortuous history and current journey to becoming a democracy for all who live within its borders.

Black Americans have celebrated as a part of this country’s fitful quest to realize the ideals of the US Constitution: freedom for all persons within their own body.

Freedom on paper was and is not freedom in real life. It is not freedom from voting restrictions, nor freedom from the preschool to prison pipeline, nor freedom from police brutality, nor freedom from health disparities, nor freedom from erasure of Black people from this country’s history. Juneteenth 2020 for me is a Sankofa moment: “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.” We celebrate to remember, so we can move forward. Forward, toward racial equity in educational outcomes, access to credit that can lead to generational wealth, and equal protection under the law.

We commemorate Juneteenth with the realization that, as Ancestor Fannie Lou Hamer one of the co-founders of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party told us, “Nobody is free until everybody is free.” What we see happening throughout this country are people standing up for the freedom, liberty and the sanctity of Black Lives.

We have gathered educational materials to share with you about the historical, cultural and political significance of Juneteenth to Black Americans, as well as all Americans and denizens in this country. Every day, we will send an art as liberatory praxis piece for you to reflect upon, enjoy and share.

Be BOLD. Stay SAFE.

Respect and Honor to the Ancestors, the Elders and the Future,

What is Juneteenth?

History